Defense Acquisition University Training

General Information:

The Defense Acquisition University (DAU) provides mandatory, assignment-specific and continuing education courses for military and civilian acquisition personnel within the Department of Defense. Its mission is to provide a global learning environment to support a mission-ready Defense Acquisition Workforce that delivers, and sustains effective and affordable warfighting capabilities. Authorized by 10 U.S.C. 1746 and chartered by DoD Directive 5000.57, the DAU was established on August 1, 1992.

The DAU coordinates acquisition education and training programs to meet the training requirements of more than 144,000 DoD acquisition personnel. As the DoD corporate university for acquisition education, the DAU sponsors curriculum and instructor training to provide a full range of courses to support the career goals and professional development of the Acquisition Workforce.

Getting Started

Army Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (AL&T) Workforce civilian and military personnel desiring DAU training (including online courses) must have those courses annotated and approved on their automated Individual Development Plan (IDP). Once approved on the IDP, a link is provided from the IDP to the ATRRS Internet Training Application System (AITAS).

Certification Requirements

Training priorities are based on the individual’s position certification requirements. AL&T Workforce personnel requiring assistance with the IDP/AITAS or updating records should contact their Acquisition Career Managers (ACMs): http://asc.army.mil/web/contact/poc/:

USAASC is responsible for processing all applications, registering students for training and issuing travel funding and orders. Question on the above subject areas can be found at: https://www.atrrs.army.mil/channels/aitas/.

Class Schedule Information

Class schedule information can be found within the IDP, AITAS or ATRRS Data-On-Demand. Individuals and organizations should closely monitor the availability of on-site class offerings to minimize expenses associated with class attendance in the resident mode. Student cancellations should be limited to emergencies and must be submitted through AITAS, five working days prior to the start date or reservation cut-off date, whichever is earlier.

Military personnel

Military personnel en route to a new duty station or an acquisition position should contact their assignment officer for assistance in obtaining DAU training. Assignment officers’ contact information can be found on the Army Human Resources Command (HRC) web site.

Non-AL&T Workforce Army Personnel

Non-AL&T Workforce Army personnel, both military and civilian, may submit applications for DAU training by going directly to AITAS. These individuals are not required to have an Acquisition IDP and must apply as “non-acquisition workforce (command funding required).”

Training Priority Information:

Applications are processed in the order in which we receive them (based on the earliest supervisory approval date). Those requiring DAU Training to meet their position certification requirement are given priority over any other applications.

Prerequisite Training Requirements:

In order to develop a comprehensive curriculum that meets the needs of the Defense Acquisition Workforce, complies with accreditation standards, is within available resources, and promotes learning, DAU, in its curriculum design processes frequently builds upon the knowledge and skills gained from other DAU courses. Accordingly, DAU has established course prerequisite requirements for many of our training courses that must be met in order to register for a course. Students are not only required to meet course prerequisite requirements but must be competent in prerequisite knowledge and skills as these are essential for successful participation in a higher level course where functional specialization is emphasized or where courses at the higher level are designed to enhance the employee’s capabilities in a primary specialty or functional area.

All students must meet course prerequisite requirements unless the requirement has been waived. Prerequisites are met by completing the designated DAU course; completing an approved equivalent course (acceptable equivalent courses are listed online in the DAU I Catalog at http://icatalog.dau.mil/appg.aspx ); or by fulfilling the prerequisite course through an assessment of the student’s previous education and training experiences against the prerequisite course learning outcomes, by the student’s component.

An Out-of-sequence waiver is a request for approval to take a DAU course out of sequence, that is, before taking the usual prerequisite course. In this case, the employee must still take the prerequisite course for certification at a later date. Waiver requests are submitted via email. The email must provide detailed justification, attach a current resume AND be approved by either the employee’s first line supervisor or an OAP. Submit waiver requests or ask an ACM at https://rda.altess.army.mil/camp/index.cfm?fuseaction=support.helpRequest

Equivalency-Predecessor-Fulfillment:

Students can complete their program (training requirements for career field certification) by exercising the Equivalency Program. DAU provides the opportunity for other organizations (federal, colleges/universities, private vendors, and non-profits) to offer courses, programs, or certifications for which DAU would accept as equivalent to one or more DAU courses if upon evaluation of the organization’s materials and standards, they adequately address all of the DAU course learning outcomes for a selected DAU course. It is the responsibility of the organization providing the other instruction to request equivalency. It is DAU’s policy to accept, without further assessment of the student, the equivalent course completions a student has pursued through other resources when fulfilling course prerequisite and/or program training requirements.

Many current DAU courses have resemble previous DAU courses. If the content has remained relatively constant, the old DAU course or “predecessor” course is acceptable for meeting current DAU course prerequisite requirements as well as for meeting current acquisition career field certification and/or unique position training standards. For more information on Predecessors, please click this link: http://icatalog.dau.mil/onlinecatalog/AllPredecessor.aspx

Fulfillment

Students can complete program (training requirements for career field certification) by exercising the Fulfillment Program. Through an assessment of the student’s past training and experience, regardless of source, against the learning outcomes of select DAU courses, DoD components and agencies may approve a fulfillment request by the student thereby certifying that the student possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities that would otherwise have been gained by attending the DAU course. It is the responsibility of the Defense Acquisition Workforce member’s component or agency to implement the fulfillment program. It is DAU’s policy to accept, without further assessment of the student, the approved fulfillments a student possesses when fulfilling course prerequisite and/or program training requirements.

For more information on Fulfillment, please click on the below link and follow the steps to access the specific course fulfillment guide: http://icatalog.dau.mil/DAUFulfillmentPgm.aspx
1. Click “Student Course Materials” at the bottom of that page.
2. Then click on DAU course number (e.g. IRM 202) of the course that you plan to apply for fulfillment.
3. Then click on Fulfillment Guide on the left.
4. Then click on Fulfillment guide icon at the bottom.
5. Cancel the password prompt.
6. The “Employee Self-Assessment” form (.xls for that class.) will open up
7. Save the document to your computer for completion and submission with the DD 2518.

Helpdesk Information:

For questions related to your DAU training application submitted, course disapprovals, course funding, DAU travel orders, posting DAU equivalent training, please open a ticket through the Workforce Management Inquiry system within the Career Acquisition Personnel and Position Management System (CAMP/CAPPMIS). There are two ways to access the help ticket system:
1. For CAMP/CAPPMIS users, log using your CAC: https://rda.altess.army.mil/camp/ , click the “Help Request” button at the top right of the CAMP home page.

400 Level Training Courses:

Defense Acquisition University (DAU) offers a wide array of program management (PMT) and acquisition (ACQ) 400 level courses. These courses are non-Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) required courses geared toward level III certified program managers and senior leaders and those who need to satisfy requirements of 10 U.S.C. 1735. You may click on the short course link to take you to the course catalog for more detailed course descriptions and required prerequisites.

PMT 401 and PMT 402 are statutorily required for program executive officers (PEOs), deputy program executive officers (DPEOs) and program managers/deputy program managers (PMs/DPMs) of ACAT I and II programs.

The ACQ 45x series of courses are leadership specific courses for level III certified personnel in any acquisition career field who have at least three years of acquisition experience. These courses are also part of the core-plus development guide for a few of the acquisition career fields.